Income tax revision to cause super rich to pay 8.7 mln won more in annual dues

2017/11/05 16:16

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SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- Proposed changes to South Korea's income tax law will cause the country's super rich to pay 8.7 million won (US$7,800) more in dues annually, a parliamentary report said Sunday.

According to a report by National Assembly Budget Office (NABO), 52,000 people earning 300 million won or more will experience a spike in taxes if the bill is passed by lawmakers. The total is equal to 0.24 percent of all people that are required to pay income tax.

It said people making between 46 million won and under 300 million won per annum will not be burdened with more taxes.

"If passed, the revision should contribute to the distribution of wealth in the country," NABO said.

The tax reform bill calls for those making more than 150 million won but under 300 million won to be subject to 38 percent income rates, unchanged from the present. This number goes up to 40 percent for those in the 300-500 million won range and 42 percent for those with annual earnings exceeding 500 million won.

Tax rates for those making over 300 million won will be marked up 2 percentage points from the present.

On the other hand, those salaried workers who are eligible for Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) will be subject to lower tax rates. EITC is a refundable tax credit provided by the government for low-income workers.